


Just For a Day

by shewritesall



Series: Romanogers Short Stories [24]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Babysitting, F/M, Natasha Makes a Cute Mom, Paparazzi, Reporters Suck, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-02 08:36:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19437805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewritesall/pseuds/shewritesall
Summary: When an agent gets killed on the field during a mission Steve's leading, leaving behind an orphaned infant, Steve feels responsible for taking care of the baby until SHIELD can find a safe home for her.  Cue Natasha having to step in when Steve realises baby clothes and diapers are much, much different from 1940.  It's a really good thing Natasha is such a wonderful girlfriend or he'd be royally screwed.orThat One Time Steve Offered to Take Care of a Baby Until SHIELD Could Find it a Home But Ends Up With the Kid For Longer Than He Agreed





	Just For a Day

Steve knew telling Natasha they were going to be taking care of an infant for a few days could go one of two ways: she would absolutely love the idea and forget Steve existed while the baby was with them; or she could yell at him for volunteering to do something neither of them had experience in. He was kind of hoping she'd love the idea even if it meant he would be ignored for a few days, but unfortunately for him, the world was rarely on his side. The minute he walked onto their floor with a baby carrier and she saw him, she frowned.

"Steve," she said hesitantly, setting aside her laptop and standing up from the couch. "What's that?"

Steve smiled innocently and held the baby carrier up higher so she could see it better. Her frown deepened as she walked around the couch and over to him, peering down into the carrier. He knew the exact moment she realised the baby inside was real and not a doll because her eyes widened and she took two big steps back. Thankfully, the baby was asleep and didn't wake up even at her sharp gasp, so Steve promised to explain in a moment before hurrying down the hall to their guest bedroom and setting down the carrier. When he walked back into the living room, Natasha was exactly where he left her, eyes wide as she stared at him from across the room.

"Okay, now I know I didn't ask you first," he began, slowly stepping towards her. She nodded and he continued. "But there wasn't much time to talk about it anyway. Fury needed someone to take her tonight because her mom died on my op and she doesn't have a father. I couldn't just leave her, Nat! She's just a few months old and Fury didn't want to send her home with just anyone, so I volunteered considering it was my mission that killed her mom. Plus, it's only for a couple of days until SHIELD can find her a good, safe home."

Natasha was dead silent. Her face was completely blank and for the first time in what felt like forever, Steve couldn't read her. He gingerly reached out to pull her into his arms and froze when he realised just how tense she was. She didn't move when he touched her and for a moment he was worried she was going to run out.

"Nat? Please say something," Steve begged. He knew he had been overstepping when he offered to bring the baby home. He shouldn't have done it, but Fury needed someone trustworthy and he promised it would only be for a few days. It would absolutely suck if Natasha spent those few days at one of her safe houses instead of at the Tower with him, but he could live with that if it meant he could right his wrong. At least, he hoped he could live with it.

"Only a few days?" Natasha asked quietly. Steve nodded hastily. Natasha was silent for a few more seconds before turning to look up at him. "Tell me what happened again. I wasn't really listening," she admitted. Steve just smiled and recounted how during his mission, one of his agents had been killed. He had sent her and two others down a hall to check for guards only for them to be exposed to poisonous gas and die. When he'd returned from the mission and told Fury what had happened, Fury had told him the lead agent had a kid in their childcare downstairs.

"It was horrible," Steve murmured. Hearing Fury mutter about having to find the kid a safe place to stay for a few nights had made Steve feel even worse about getting those agents killed than before. He hadn't even thought it through before he found himself telling Fury he could take care of the baby for a few nights, just until SHIELD found a good home.

Natasha listened quietly, glancing down the hall towards the guest room every now and then as Steve recounted the story. She couldn't honestly say the idea of having a baby around for a few days was completely horrible. Taking care of the Barton kids had always been one of her favourite things to do. Something about holding a baby calmed her, but she wasn't going to outright admit that when she was supposed to be mad at Steve. Even if she wasn't really mad at him, she wasn't going to let him know just hearing that the baby was now an orphan had convinced her to let the baby stay.

"What's her name?" Natasha asked after Steve had finished his story. Steve paused, not having expected that to be the first question she had after everything he'd just said. Then he smiled.

"Sadie Angelica Perkins," he replied. Natasha found herself smiling against her own will and quickly stopped.

"Well, we can't just let her sleep in her carrier," Natasha sighed. They would probably have to for tonight considering it was almost midnight, Natasha was exhausted, and Steve was still covered in dirt from his mission, but in the morning they could go get her some things. Steve agreed, smiling sheepishly when Natasha mentioned he smelled horrible. He promised to call Fury in the morning and ask if they could pick up Sadie's things from her house then hurried to go take a shower.

Once Steve was gone, Natasha made her way to the guest room and peered inside the room. Sadie was still fast asleep with a pacifier in her mouth and a fuzzy blanket over her. Natasha smiled as she watched her for a few minutes before quietly closing the door, leaving it cracked so she would wake up when Sadie did. By the time she herself had changed for bed and burrowed under the covers, Steve was done with his shower. He moved to close their door, but Natasha stopped him.

"If she wakes up, you'll want to be able to hear her," she muttered, waving for Steve to come back over to her. Steve grinned and crawled onto the bed beside her.

"Sounds like you like her," he teased, turning off the lamp on his nightstand. Natasha rolled her eyes as she curled around Steve.

"I just don't want you to end up starving her or something on her first night here," she replied. Steve chuckled and kissed the side of her head.

"Alright," he said. He kissed her face a couple more times then settled down beside her. "Good night, love."

"Good night," Natasha replied sleepily, drifting off to sleep a few moments later.

* * *

Natasha woke up to a silent apartment and an empty bed. Frowning, she sat up and looked around the room. She grabbed her phone to check the time to make sure she hadn't slept in, even more confused when she realised she was actually up a few minutes earlier than usual.

"Steve?" she called. He didn't respond so she climbed out of bed to go look for him. She paused in the hallway before turning towards the guest room to see if Sadie was alright. She hadn't heard any crying in the middle of the night and she knew from nights at the Bartons that babies tended to sleep through the night by the time they were six months old, but there was no way they got lucky enough to have a baby that didn't wake up.

Sure enough, when Natasha peered into the room, Sadie was fast asleep in her carrier. Natasha smiled before leaving the room and returning to her search for Steve. It didn't take long for her to realise he wasn't anywhere on the floor. Confused and slightly unsettled by his sudden disappearance, she asked FRIDAY where he had gone. He usually left a note when he left to go running, but as far as she could tell, there wasn't a note.

"Captain Rogers is currently outside speaking with Agent Barton," FRIDAY replied. Natasha twisted around and sure enough, Steve was leaning against the balcony rail with his phone pressed to his ear. She smiled and made her way to the sliding doors.

She slipped through the doors quietly, not bothering to close them behind her. Whatever Steve was talking to Clint about had to be pretty important because he didn't seem to hear her walk out. She paused for a moment, trying to figure out what they could possibly be talking about. It wasn't hard to hear Steve even with the noise of New York below them, she just had to listen closely to understand what he was saying.

"I didn't mean to scare her," he told Clint. Natasha frowned. Scare who about what? Was he talking about her? "I understand why the idea of having a baby here would make her uncomfortable, but she seems to like Sadie alright. I mean, she cracked the doors so we could hear her if she cried." They _were_ talking about her! Why was Steve concerned about her? Sure, the idea of having an infant hadn't appealed to her immediately, but it was only for a few days. She could survive if it meant Sadie could go to the best home Fury could find. "Yeah, yeah, I know that's common knowledge. Still, I don't think she's that opposed to the idea." Natasha was not going to either confirm or deny that. Sadie would leave in a few days and while Natasha wanted to make sure she was well taken care of, she didn't want to fall in love with her right before sending her away. "Alright, I'll keep you updated. She'll probably be up soon, so I should go," Steve said. Natasha's eyes widened and she slipped through the sliding doors again, shutting them quietly as Steve finished up his conversation.

Instead of hurrying back to the bedroom and pretending to be asleep, Natasha walked into the kitchen to make herself coffee. She waited until she heard Steve open and close the balcony doors before turning around to face him. He smirked as he walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked, taking a sip of coffee to hide her face. Ever since they'd become close friends and partners a few years ago, Steve had been able to read her pretty well, almost as well as Clint could.

"Clint," Steve replied, taking her mug of coffee for himself. She frowned and he handed it back after taking a sip. "But you already knew that."

Natasha frowned as Steve smirked. He kissed her temple and let go of her waist to make his own coffee.

"Hey, you could have hung up once you knew I was listening," she defended. Steve just grinned at her over his shoulder and poured creamer into his mug. "It's your fault I eavesdropped."

"Oh is it?" he teased. Natasha nodded and sipped some more of her coffee. "So I made you walk onto the balcony, stop just far enough away I couldn't see you, then stand and listen until the conversation was done?"

"Yes," Natasha confirmed. Steve chuckled and Natasha hid her blush behind her coffee mug. "But since you didn't allow me to come out earlier, what else did you two talk about?"

"I don't think you get to know that," he taunted. Natasha glared at him as he set down his mug and kissed her cheek with a grin. He left the kitchen without another word, leaving Natasha confused. A few minutes later he returned with Sadie in his arms, whimpering quietly.

"How did you even know she was awake?" Natasha asked, watching as Steve gently bounced Sadie to calm her down.

"Super hearing," Steve answered. Sadie didn't stop whimpering even when Steve tried humming softly. The longer she whined, the more worried Steve looked. When Sadie's whimpers began to turn into real cries, Natasha sighed and held out her hands for her. Steve warily handed her to Natasha who immediately laid her on the counter and unbuttoned her jumpsuit. Sadie continued to cry as Natasha lifted her up to check her diaper, unsurprised to find it full.

"You didn't happen to grab spare diapers from the daycare, did you?" Natasha asked, picking Sadie back up and grimacing at a particularly loud cry.

"Maybe?" Steve replied. He hurried back to the guest room and grabbed the bag he'd been given when picking Sadie up. He rummaged through it until he found a single diaper and some wipes. He raced back into the kitchen and handed them to Natasha.

"Was there a changing pad too?" she asked. Steve's face scrunched up in confusion and Natasha rolled her eyes as she stepped around him. Steve followed her back to the guest room and watched as she laid Sadie on the bed then looked through the diaper bag. She pulled out and unfolded a thin, mat-like thing then set Sadie on it. Steve watched in fascination as Natasha got Sadie's attention and began to take off the soiled diaper. When instructed, Steve handed her wipes then the diaper, smiling when Natasha fastened her jumpsuit back together then lifted her up, cooing happily.

"Looks like you know what you're doing," Steve commented, watching Sadie giggle when Natasha blew raspberries onto her tummy.

"Yeah, well, thank the Barton babies," Natasha replied, handing Sadie back to Steve and folding up the changing mat. She put the mat back in the bag then pulled out a bottle. Unfortunately, there wasn't much formula left in the container, but Natasha mixed and heated what little they had.

"This isn't too bad," Steve said, looking down at Sadie as she drank hungrily from the bottle in his hand.

"She'll get hungry again in a couple of hours," Natasha reminded him, digging through Sadie's bag to see what all they had. "We should really go pick up her things from home so she had toys, a place to nap, and something familiar to drink."

"Right," Steve nodded, not tearing his eyes away from Sadie. Natasha looked up from the bag and smirked when she spotted Steve completely enthralled by Sadie.

"You need to call Fury about that," she prompted. Steve just nodded again and said, "Right."

"I'm gonna go call Fury," Natasha grinned. Steve did the same as before, causing Natasha to laugh as she reached for her phone and searched for Fury's contact. If Steve was already this captivated by Sadie's presence, she couldn't imagine how bad he would be tomorrow.

* * *

As it turned out, Sadie was from Brooklyn, something Steve was thrilled to discover. The entire drive from the Tower to her old house, Steve talked happily with Sadie, asking her all sorts of questions she couldn't answer. Sadie stared at him blankly, sucking on her pacifier as he talked to her. Natasha just listened from the driver's seat and shook her head whenever Steve asked a particularly strange question.

"We're here," Natasha announced, parking in front of a small apartment complex. Steve unfastened Sadie's carrier from the car seat and pulled it out.

"You have a wonderful apartment, Sadie," Steve said, looking down at the baby. Sadie just grinned and giggled, reaching up for him as Natasha led them into the building. While Steve played with Sadie, Natasha went to the front desk and flashed her badge.

"We need a key into Lauren Perkins apartment," she told the desk worker. He nodded and walked into a back office. A minute later, he came out and handed the key to her. Natasha thanked him then called Steve over. He jogged over to her and they got in the elevator.

"Do you think Sadie will be sent to a home in Brooklyn?" Steve asked, glancing at Natasha. She raised an eyebrow at her then shrugged.

"I doubt it, Steve," she answered. Steve frowned. "Fury wants a good home, not a specific location, for her."

"The best home for her is in Brooklyn," Steve muttered. Natasha laughed as they walked off the elevator and Steve grumbled about how it wasn't fair Sadie would be forced to leave the best district in New York. Natasha listened to him mutter and complain about it to Sadie until they stepped into her old apartment.

It was definitely Agent Perkins'. There were photos of her and Sadie hung on the walls and baby things scattered the living room. They took a moment to look around the house before Steve set down Sadie's carrier and handed her a toy so they could get to work. Natasha took down the playpen after Steve realised it wasn't as easy as it looked and stuffed it in its bag. She grabbed a couple of blankets from Sadie's old room while Steve stuffed all sorts of toys and stuffed animals into a trash bag to bring with them.

"You take the things we already have packed and I'll finish up," Natasha said, looking at the small pile they'd created by Sadie's carrier. The little girl was fast asleep again, so Steve was careful to be quiet when picking up the playpen and bag of blankets. While he was gone, Natasha packed up all the diapers and wipes she could find in Sadie's room and stuffed all her clothes in another bag. She dug through the kitchen for baby food, formula, and anything else Sadie might need while Steve took a second trip.

"All done?" he asked, walking into the apartment for the last time to see Natasha pulling a photo frame off the wall.

"Yeah," Natasha said, picking up what Steve could only assume was a photo album and sticking both it and the frame into Sadie's diaper bag. He smiled at her and she frowned. "What? She'll want photos of her mom when she's older."

"It's sweet is all," Steve told her, gently lifting Sadie's carrier and closing the cover so she was surrounded by darkness. "I wouldn't have thought of it, but you did."

"Yeah, well, it's what I wish someone had done for me," she sighed. Steve's face immediately softened, but she didn't give him time to comment before picking up Sadie's diaper bag and grinning at him. "Let's get back to the Tower and set everything up!"

"Nat," Steve said, reaching out and grabbing her around the waist.

"Steve, don't," she warned. Steve just nodded and kissed her briefly before letting her go and grabbing her hand instead.

"I love you," he told her. She smiled softly and nodded.

"I know," she replied. She locked the door behind them and turned the key back into the front desk while Steve went outside to strap Sadie's carrier into the car.

* * *

Steve and Natasha spent all day setting up Sadie's things and keeping her entertained. For the most part, when she wasn't sleeping, she was staring at everything blankly or playing with a toy and gurgling happily. After making sure everything was alright, Steve stepped onto the balcony to call Fury and see how home hunting was going. As much as he loved having Sadie around, he knew she needed to get to a forever home as soon as possible. Fury, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in such a rush.

"Rogers, I've got missions to lead and agents to babysit," Fury told him, sounding annoyed Steve had called him again. "I have Hill working on finding the baby a home, but it might be a week or two. You are okay with that, aren't you?"

"Yeah, it's just..." Steve hesitated, wondering if he should tell Fury Natasha wasn't fond of the idea.

"Romanoff will be fine," Fury assured him. Steve wasn't sure if he was thankful Fury could read his mind or annoyed that he'd figured out his hesitance so quickly. "She loves kids. She's great with them."

"I'm pretty sure she isn't in love with the idea of having one in the Tower for two weeks," Steve told him, remembering Natasha's initial reaction. She'd actually looked terrified when she saw Steve holding Sadie's carrier. "She looked absolutely terrified to see her last night."

"Tell me, Rogers," Fury mused, "What's she doing right now?"

Steve turned to look through the window into the living room. Natasha was sitting on the floor beside Sadie, smiling and talking to her happily while playing with her feet. Steve smiled as he watched Sadie shriek happily and Natasha jump at the sudden sound. Both girls dissolved into laughter when Natasha picked Sadie up and blew on her face.

"She's playing with Sadie," Steve said, still captivated by the sight of Natasha being so soft with the little girl. Fury hummed.

"And I imagine she was the only one able to calm her at some point?" Fury asked. Steve nodded dumbly, forgetting Fury couldn't see him. "She loves kids, Steve. She might be terrified at the idea of having them around and in her care for an extended amount of time, but she enjoys it too. As long as you keep her out of her own head, you'll be lucky to hold Sadie when she's around."

Steve would have objected, saying something about how Natasha only took care of Sadie because he was completely hopeless, but he was rendered speechless when Natasha kissed Sadie's cheek and lifted her onto her hip. Natasha walked out of sight, but he could still see her and Sadie laughing together in his head.

"You alright, Rogers?" Fury asked, sounding amused. Steve snapped himself out of his trance and turned back to the streets below the Tower.

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered. Fury chuckled. "Well, let me know when you find her a home."

"Alright," Fury agreed. He hung up without another word, but Steve stayed out on the balcony for a little while longer, grinning to himself as he thought more and more about Natasha taking care of Sadie.

* * *

It was quickly established that if Sadie woke up in the night, it was Steve's job to take care of her. By the end of her second day with them, Steve was able to correctly change her diaper and heat up her milk. Natasha made sure there was always a full bottle in the fridge that just needed to be warmed up, giving Steve no excuse to wake her up in the night to take care of Sadie. Unfortunately, five days into her stay at the Tower, Steve couldn't figure out how to calm her down and was on the verge of crying himself. He'd checked her diaper and tried giving her a bottle. Neither seemed to help and as much as he loved Sadie, he just wanted her to shut up so he could return to Natasha.

Without warning, small hands came around him and took Sadie out of his arms. Steve turned to see Natasha cradle Sadie close to her chest and shush her quietly. She did long, sweeping motions with Sadie, trying to calm her down while Steve stood back helplessly. Eventually, Natasha sighed and turned back to Steve, grimacing as a particularly loud wail came from Sadie.

"Can you get the car?" she asked. Steve frowned in confusion but nodded. He hurried to their room and pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt then grabbed his keys. When he returned to the living room, Natasha was still bouncing Sadie gently and humming in her ear, but Sadie wasn't calming down.

They both stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the garage. While Steve climbed into the driver's seat, Natasha got in the back seat behind him with Sadie in her arms. Instead of fastening her into her carrier, Natasha kept her snug in her arms.

"Where are we going?" Steve asked. Natasha shrugged and shifted Sadie in her arms.

"Wherever you want to drive," she answered, briefly explaining that car rides could almost always calm fussy babies. Steve nodded and drove out of the garage. Only five minutes into their drive and Sadie's cries were substantially less. She was still whimpering occasionally, but there were no longer shrill cries. Natasha hummed quietly as they drove, waiting until she was certain Sadie was asleep before telling Steve to return to the Tower.

When Steve parked the car and climbed out of the driver's seat, he paused. He opened the back seat door to see Natasha fast asleep with Sadie in her arms. She was slouched against the baby carrier which Steve was pretty sure couldn't possibly be comfortable. He gingerly pulled Sadie from her arms and her eyes blinked open.

"Hey," he said softly, holding a sleeping Sadie in one arm and reaching down to help Natasha climb out of the car. Natasha rubbed her eyes with her free hand, keeping her other in Steve's so he could guide her to the elevator.

The ride back up to their floor was silent as Natasha dozed off. Steve walked her back to their room, watching until she was safely back in bed before going down to the guest room to lay Sadie down. She barely even moved as he set her down, but he waited to be sure she was still asleep before leaving. When he returned to their room, Natasha was fast asleep on their bed, sprawled out onto his side of the bed. He smiled and slid in beside her, moving her arms and leg so he didn't lay on top of them. She readjusted in her sleep then sighed and settled down. Steve wrapped his arm around her back and pulled the covers over the both of them before falling asleep himself.

* * *

When Steve got the call from Fury that Agent Hill had found a good home for Sadie and they were coming to pick her up from the Triskelion, Natasha was in the middle of feeding Sadie her afternoon bottle. He had been in the middle of making them lunch but stopped when he heard Fury say it was time for Sadie to leave. Steve went silent, getting Natasha's attention from across the counter. It didn't take long for Fury to ask if that was a problem and Steve immediately assured him it wasn't.

"No, sir," he promised, glancing down at Sadie who was beginning to fall asleep as she ate, something he'd begun to notice happened a lot. "We'll be there in two hours."

Fury hung up and Steve set his phone down. He looked up at Natasha, watching her gently pull Sadie's bottle out of her hands and lift her over her shoulder to burp her.

"Fury found a home for her," Steve said. Natasha's eyes widened then she frowned and glanced at Sadie on her shoulder. "The family is coming to pick her up from the Triskelion, so we have two hours to be there."

"Oh," Natasha said. Sadie burped, spitting up over the blanket on Natasha's shoulder and Natasha wiped her mouth. "Okay." Steve nodded.

"I'll go pack up her things," he told her. Natasha nodded, telling him to leave the diaper bag unpacked. He left to gather all of Sadie's things while Natasha cleaned Sadie up and rocked her to sleep. By the time Steve had everything set out by the elevator, Sadie was asleep in Natasha's arms.

"I called Happy to help us," Natasha said, picking up Sadie's bag and looping it over her shoulder with one hand. "He'll be up in a minute to help load everything in the car."

As if her comment had called to him, Happy walked out of the elevator. He and Steve managed to pick up everything they needed while Natasha carried Sadie, the diaper bag, and her carrier with some toys and a blanket in it. They loaded the elevator and started towards the front door only to stop immediately. Even though they were obviously trying to be inconspicuous, they could see the swarm of paparazzi waiting outside. It wasn't necessarily unusual for paps to hang around outside the Tower, but usually it was only one or two lesser-known magazines that stuck around.

"What are they doing here?" Natasha asked, setting the baby carrier on the ground and crouching down to grab a blanket.

"Tony has a press conference in a few hours and they're not allowed inside until then," Happy grumbled, clearly upset he'd forgotten about what tended to happen on press days. "I'll take everything out to the car and try to scare them away. You guys wait here."

They didn't need to be told twice. Happy took his load out to the car, grabbing the attention of some paps before they realised it was just him. When they noticed he was carrying a baby playpen, they began to take photos. Happy ignored them as he loaded the trunk of the car then returned for the second load of things. Natasha made sure Sadie's head was covered while Steve picked up the diaper bag. On Happy's third trip inside, he picked up the baby carrier and nodded at them.

"I'll keep them out of your faces as much as possible, but it's not looking good," he told them. They nodded and Steve grabbed Natasha's hand. Happy led them out of the Tower and paparazzi immediately swarmed them. Natasha ducked her head in an attempt to keep her face out of the cameras, covering Sadie with her arms as best she could. Steve kept her in front of him and behind Happy so the paps couldn't surround her, pushing away people that got too close. Sadie woke up and started crying almost immediately, not happy with the loud yelling of the paparazzi and the bright camera flashes. Even with her head covered, Steve knew she could see the bright flashes.

When they finally got to the car, Natasha climbed in first. Steve got in right after her, taking the baby carrier from Happy then shutting the door. Sadie cried as Natasha uncovered her head and bounced her as best she could in the car. They didn't bother putting her in her car seat. Instead, Natasha handed her to Steve who tried to calm her down as well. The car ride helped and halfway to the Triskelion, Sadie was no longer crying. Her face was red and tear stained, but she wasn't screaming.

"I'm sorry, again, guys," Happy said, glancing back at them briefly.

"It wasn't your fault, Happy," Steve assured him. The car was silent as they drove through SHIELD security and drove up to the entrance.

Steve and Happy got out first to unload the car while Natasha strapped Sadie into her carrier and handed her a toy. She sucked on her pacifier and looked around blankly, still visibly shook from her encounter with the paparazzi. Agent Hill came out to meet them halfway through the first floor, overriding the system so Happy could get through all the security.

"Looks like Sadie got her first run-in with the paps," Maria commented, smiling down at the baby.

"How did you know that?" Natasha asked. Maria raised an eyebrow at her.

"We're SHIELD, we know everything," she explained. Natasha gave her a look and Maria rolled her eyes. "It's trending. #CaptainWidowBaby is the latest news on Twitter."

"Oh god," Steve groaned. Maria nodded. "Tell me you're fixing it."

"There's only so much we can do, but no one knows what Sadie looks like thanks to you covering her head," Maria said, gesturing to Natasha. "As for the rumours, Stark PR had already been notified and are working on it. It's probably going to be covered in Tony's press conference this afternoon."

"Great," Natasha mumbled. The last thing she wanted was to have to attend a press conference because some nosy reporters got a picture of her and Steve babysitting. They'd been doing so well at keeping Sadie a secret while she stayed in the Tower, too. Yeah, the team knew, but that was a given. The public hadn't known until an hour or so ago.

"Is the family here?" Steve asked as they walked through a set of double doors and into a room Steve had never seen before. Maria nodded and gestured to a couple sitting nervously across the room. As soon as they spotted the group, they stood up and smiled awkwardly.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Henry," Maria greeted, leading Steve, Natasha, and Happy over to them. "This is Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers, they've been taking care of Sadie for the past week and a half."

"Hi," Mrs. Henry said, waving shyly. Natasha smiled and waved back. "You're Avengers, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Steve replied, smiling warmly. Mrs. Henry nodded then looked down at the baby carrier Natasha was holding.

"Oh, she's so cute," she gushed, grinning at Sadie. Natasha nodded and held up the carrier so Mrs. Henry could see Sadie easier.

"She's a little unsettled with all the moving around, but she's pretty happy once you get her home," Natasha explained. Mrs. Henry nodded, not looking away from Sadie. "You can take her if you want, you are adopting her."

"Oh," Mrs. Henry exclaimed as if just remembering. Natasha helped her unclip Sadie and watched as Mrs. Henry lifted her out of the carrier. Sadie stared at her blankly, but Mrs. Henry seemed happy.

Happy handed the things he was holding to Mr. Henry and while Mrs. Henry went with Maria to fill out paperwork, Steve, Mr. Henry, and Happy took all of Sadie's things out to the Henry's car. Natasha stood back from Maria and Mrs. Henry, watching as Mrs. Henry signed piles of paperwork that hadn't been able to be finished until Sadie was delivered safely. Once everything was signed, Maria and Natasha walked with Mrs. Henry out to her car.

"Thank you again so much, Agent Hill," Mrs. Henry said, gently bouncing Sadie. "And thank you for taking care of her, Agent Romanoff."

"My pleasure," Natasha replied, staring at Sadie who looked at her with wide eyes. "Goodbye, little miss," she said, smiling at Sadie. Sadie grinned back and flailed her arms, causing Mrs. Henry to smile widely.

"We should get going, hon," Mr. Henry said. Mrs. Henry nodded and strapped Sadie into her carrier before thanking them again. Maria, Natasha, Steve, and Happy watched until the Henry's car was gone before leaving as well.

The ride back to the Tower was silent, but when they pulled up outside, they were immediately surrounded by paparazzi again. Happy grumbled and climbed out of the car to open their door. Steve climbed out first then reached back and grabbed Natasha's hand, pulling her along behind him through the crowd. Neither of them said anything until they were all the way back up to their floor and alone.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, letting go of Natasha's hand as she wandered into the kitchen. Natasha nodded numbly and grabbed a glass of water. "You sure? I know you really loved having Sadie around."

"I'm just glad she went to a good home," Natasha replied before drinking her water. Steve nodded and kissed her forehead.

"She'll be alright," he assured her. She nodded and wrapped her free arm around his waist.

"I know," Natasha said, setting down her water glass and turning to hug Steve. "I just wish she hadn't left."


End file.
